Evening Star Newspaper, February 24, 1932, Page 2

A—2 ¥%% THE EVENiX# STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €. WEHVE “DAY. F EBRUARY 24, 1932, IRLINGTON COUNTY HORTACE PROBED Legislature Comes to Rescue | With Permission to Per- mit Borrowing. (Continued From First Page.) ever, that the bonding company prob- | gbly would not take any action until completion of the audit by the State | suditor'’s office, which would leave the ccunty treasury financially embarrassed | and in a serious condition for at least & month unless the funds are borrowed Denied Discrepancy. When the shortage first was discov- ered, authorities said, Ball was called before the Board of Commissioners on | three different occasions for an ex- | planation, but each time he vigorously | denied a discrepancy existed in his ac- counts. Ball insisted, it was declared, that general funds of the county show- | ed a balance of $94.000. Prior to the audit by the firm of James Stuart Ball of Washington county officials said _there had been onl¢ two audits of Ball's accounts in the past four years—one b Accounts Probed |BIG SAVING OFFSET INUS.SUPPLYBILL E. WADE PALL. the purpose of defraying current ex- penses. Having already been informed that the old Board of Supervisors left an insufficient sum of money in the county treasury to carry the new board through to June 15, Reid had recently offered | the county | g amendment to a bill affecting only | $14.704,000 less than the budget and " | ., The Appropriations Committee |Postal and Treasury Cuts Balanced by Building and | i Added Debts. | By the Assoctated Press | Many millions of dollars carefully | culled from next year's operating costs of the huge Treasury and Post Office Departments are more than over-bal- anced by additional public debt require- ments and the Federal building pro- gram, in the annual supply bill reported today to the House. In the biggest regular appropriation measure, $1,059,098.000 has been set | aside to operate the two departments | and $1.161,687,000 for public debt re- | tirement, interest and other permanent utlays. These sums total nearly half of the $4,600,000,000 budget submitted | by Presicent Hoover. cut $22,677.000 off the budget estimates for | he operating expense bill, reducing this $44,688,000 below current expenses. The | Post Office Department received $805,- 586,000, or $7.972,000 below the budget and $37.297,000 less than this year. The Treasury was allowed $254.311.000, or about four years ago and the second bY | pranklin County, by which it was hoped | $7.391.000 below current outlays. The the State about 18 months ago. After discovery of the alleged short- age, the board of commissioners issued the following statement 1 “On February 1, 193 nual interest on school bonds 1024, together with some $12, these bonds, which had reached retire- ment period, were duly presented for | payment to the paying agent. Sufficient funds not being in hand, payment was refused. ued in Governor Notified. “This matter was first brought to the | a‘tention of the board by a letter re-| celved on February 17 by fts chairman | from representatives of the bondholders. The failure of the treasurer to deposit | with the paying agent a sum sufficient to meet these payments (about $22,000) aroused the fears of the board and an investigation was immediately begun, the result of which seemed to confirm these fears. The representative of the bonding company was notified on Satur- day, February 20, and Tuesday morn- ing the Governor of Virginia was also | advised of the seriousness of the situa- tion and was requested that he have | the auditor of the public accounts take over the office at once “The financial interest of the coun- ty is fully protected by a bond of the Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland.” Ball has been treasurer of Arling- ton County for 24 years and was un- nbpposed in the last election, in Novem- er. Prior to his election as treasurer he served for four vears as deputy treasurer. He is a Democrat. The county treasurer is one of four offices which remained elective under the county-manger plan which went into effect in Arlington County Janu- ary 1 Iast. County Treasurer Ball is & brother of former State Senator Frank L. Ball 8d has been elected to the position of treasurer seven times. Orders Complete Audit. County Manager Roy S. Braden an- nounced this morning that he would demand an audit made of all county oMces in an effort to determine whether ?‘r r;:ot there has been any other irregu- y. “The first recommendation I mnde‘ upon assuming office on January 1 was | that a complete audit of all offices be made,” he declared. “I shall now in- sist "that the County Board order this ne. one. Telephone calls from persons to whom approximately $18,000 in war- rants for outside labor and other bills were authorized by the county board st its meeting last Saturday swamped Braden's office all morning. The war- | Tants were refused payment at the | county treasurer's office as a result of the alleged shortage, it was said. BILL AIDS ARLINGTON. Passage of Senate Measure Permits County to Borrow Funds. By a Stafl Correspondent of The Star. RICHMOND, Va, February 24— Prompted by the serious financial situ- ation existing in Arlington County, the House of Delegates today passed the Senate bill permitting Arlington, Lee and Franklin Counties to borrow money | immediately. Delegate Hugh Reid of Arlington County, who moved that the bill be taken up out of order, said an unusual situation existed in his county and that unless there was emergency action the county might default on obligations be- fore the week ends. The bill was pass- | ed, 81 to 0. The legislation amends | code section 2727, governing the rights of supervisors to borrow money not to exceed three-fourths of the county levy. The present _situation has been brought about, Reid was informed by county authorities, through the alleged | “‘absence” of funds in the office of)| County Treasurer E. Wade Ball. He was informed by Commonwealth’s At-| torney Lawrence W. Douglas, he said, that there was an apparent shortage in the treasurer's funds of approximately | The treasurer's report on January 31, $150.000, although a statement issued by the County Board set the amount at about $200.000. | Under the present law, Reid said, counties are not permitted to borrow on' the year's revenues prior to June 15 for to give Arlington County the right to borrow funds after January 15 of each year. Reid stated last night, however. that . the semi-an- | the county could not wait for this bill | to pass through the regular legislative 000 of | procedure. so he will attempt to amend | a local bill which has reached the House calendar from the Senate and will, therefore, be more likely to rate imme- diate consideration. This bill was introduced by Senator | Lioyd M. Robinette of Lee County and | has already the Senate. It would permit the immediate borrowing | of money in one of Senator Robinette's counties, so Reid will first seek to have it amended to include Arlington County | and will then ask that the rules be | suspended, the constitutional reading | dispensed with and the bill put on im- | mediate passage. Plans Passage Today. If this is successful, he said, he will | then take the bill to the Senate and est that like procedure be followed e with respect to the amendment By this action, he hopes to have the bill before Gov. Poliard for his signa- ture by tonight. | Reid's chances of accomplishing his program are enhanced by the fact that the House started today to meet at 10 o'clock instead of noon, while the Sen- ate continues to meet at noon. The difference in the time, he thinks, will permit him to have the matter disposed of in the House before the Senate con- venes. The Arlington County delegate was informed, he said, that Arlington County has no more than enough funds to operate for a week and that unless some relief is provided there will be no money for pay rolls or any other ex- penses. POLLARD ORDERS AUDIT. Several Men on Way to Clarendon to Check Books. Special Dispatch to The Star. RICHMOND, Va., February '24.—Fol- lowing a request of 'the Arlington County Board that Gov. Pollard take over the office of county treasurer, in which it is charged that there is a shortage of more than $200,000, State Auditor T. Coleman Andrews has sent several of his men to Clarendon with mns,mwums to audit the books of the office. Chairman Harry Sellers of the County Board made the request to the Gov- ernor, stating that its action was unani- mous in deciding to place the matter in the hands of the executive. The members felt, he said, “that the situa- tion was such that the Governor should be a at once.” According to Chairman Sellers the situation devel- oped following the request of a broker- age firm that the board “take appro- géme action to see that the county's | nds are paid.” The bonds, with interest, amounted to $22,000 and were due on February 1. last, showed approximately $230,000 in the general county fund, in the bond retiring fund and in the school fund, the chairman stated. It was charged | by Mr. Sellers that an investigat had disclosed that the treasurer's posits amounted to only $11,000. Treasurer E. W. Bail had been ‘%e- make a report, sald the chairman, t had failed to do so. !“ An effort to get a statement from | the treasurer last night by telephgne brought from him the reply that did not care to discuss the mater, which, he said, had only been called to his attention in the afterncon. He had no statement to make, he said. MAN, 69, COLLAPSES R. L. Bureton of Takoma Park Is Taken to Emergency. : Robert L. Bureton, 69, wko said he lives at 24 Columbia avenue, Takoma Park, Md, collapsed today in the ground floor business office of The Star and was taken to Emergency Hospital. In falling, Bureton struck his head severely on the tile floor. At the hos- pital his condition was sald to be not serious. quested by the board last Saturday '-04 | Democratic economy knife pared a net | 2 per cent savings from the direct ap- propriation measure. Sinking Fund Increased. An increase of $118,666,000 in the permanent outlays was caused largely by increases to $426,489.000 ‘n the sink- ing fund to retire the public debt, and | to $640,000,000 in interest, and by $69,- | 000,000 charged off on cash repayments by _foreign governments. Secretary Mills explained to the com- mittee this was “due to an increase in the amount of the public debt outstand- ing” resulting from the issuance of bonds to meet the Treasury's deficit.” Mills sald the surplus $3,400,000,000 paid into the sinking fund since the World War above legal requirements had been about counterbalanced by & $3,000,000,000 increase in the public debt. “You have drawn on your reserve fund, and when we approach the fiscal year 1933 there are only two things to do. and to do just as vigor- ously as we know how,’ he told the committee. “Cut expenditures to the bone and raise taxes until the Ameri- can people and the rest of the world can e assured that during the fiscal year 1933 current revenues will balance cur- rent expenditures, and that while we cannot reduce our public debt in 1933 through operations of the sinking fund, under no circumstances will the public debt be increased after June 30, 1933." Mills recommended the abolition of bureaus to further economize in Gor ernment expenditures, saying “there are some that could disappear without doing any harm to the Government.” Following_its course laid down by Chairman Byrns, the Democratic com- mittee slashed many items, but allowed $133,406,000, an increase of $25,991.000 in the lump sum for public building construction to aid employment on pre- viously authorized projects. It made no new authorizations of projects, and cut the budget estimates by $12,785,000. Economy Cuts Outlined. Under the Treasury, divisions to re- ceive economy cuts included the Coast Guard, which rTeceived $28.882,000, or $905,000 less than the budget and $4,- 098,000 below current expenses; Cus- toms Service, $22,700,000, or $1,283,000 less than for this year; Internal Reve- nue Bureau, $33,650,000, or $26,312,000 below 1933; Industrial Alcohol Bureau, $4,725,000, or $89,000 less, and the Pub- lic Health Service, $11,421,000, a cut of $697,000. Postmaster General Brown estimated before the committee that the postal deficlt for the current year would reach about $200,000,000, due to a de- cline in revenues, which. he said. would total about $600,000,000, compared to $656,000,000 in 1931. that about $58,500,000 of the deficit was due to ocean and air mail subsidies and other non-postal functions, and sald the only substantial increased item was that for transportation of foreign mails rom $36,600,000 to $38,816,000, due to | contracts entered into in an effort to build up the merchant marine. While the committee cut the domestic airmail appropriation from $20,000,00 to $19,000,000 for next year, it left un- changed the $7,000,000 for foreign air mail transportation. It noted that reve- nues of $6,210,000 from the domestic airmail service were $11,383,000 below expenditures and said Postmaster Gen- eral Brown would seek further decreases the contract rates paid airmail 44-Hour Week Blamed. Chairman Byrns reported that the 44-hour week instituted in the postal service last year had increased the cost to the Government $7,000,000 a year. Through economies and a reduction in personnel by not filling vacancies and by not increasing salaries, the com- mittee effected a saving of $17,050.000 in postal employes’ pay as compared to | this year. A total decrease of $7,972,000 under the budget estimaies was recom- mended on allotments for personnel. The measure carried provisions pre- venting increases in salaries of em- ployes, Ailling of vacancies except where necessary, purchase of foreign-made goods when domestic maserials may be bought, or the paymen: of more than $750 for any automobile, except buses and trucks. It also abolished 28 offices in different cities where there are cus- toms officials. Federal Financiers Study Tax Plans MILLS CONFERS HOTOGRAPHED at the House Ways and Means Committee Mnfi tax plans by which money will be raised to meet the Treasury dei special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury; A. W. Gregg, assisti Committee; Arthur A. Ballantine, ‘Treasury Internal Revenue Taxa ane man or‘be Legislative Council ofgthe w00 o attosdwnid eit. ‘Undersecretary of the L. of the Treasury Ogden House, and Dr. Stark, statisticlan and WITH HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE. ip of officials is seen studying the new ft to right, they are: B. H. Bartholow, the Treasury and the Ways and Means rker. chief of staff, Joint Committee on In the rear, standing: Middleton Bea= ‘The committee noted in its report i | PROMOTIONS BAN RETAINED BY HOUSE State, Justice, Commerce and Labor Feature Same as in Agriculture Bill. I | | BY WILL P KENNEDY. The House late yesterday defeated an attempt to strike from the State, Jus- tice, Commerce and Labor appropri tion bill the prohibition against any promotions or the filling of any va- cancies before July 1. 1933, identical with the prohibition aiready carried in the Agriculture appropriation bill The same prohibition is included in the Treasury-Post Office appropriation | bill, reported to the House today by | Chairman Byrns of the House Appro-| priations Committee, who yestert took the floor and led the fight against the motion of Representative La Guar- dia of New York to eliminate this re- | strictive sections. Representative La Guardia declared | these prohibitions “unfair, unjust and unnecessary—designed to cut off pay increases which. under the classifi tion act of 1923, Congress is morally bound to provide.” He emphasized thal “the saving to be made by these pro-: visions is negligible compared to the great injustice that will be done to Government employes.” He warned the House that “the Senate Appropriations Commiteee has stricken this provision from the Agriculture appropriation bill and will undoubtedly strike it out of this bill.” Supported By Connery. He was supported in his fight on be- half of the Government employes and for maintaining the morale of the Fed- eral service by Representative Connery of Massachusetts, ehairman of the House Committee on Labor. Repre- sentative Carl Mapes of Michigan op- posed the application of this prohibi- tion to the Coast and Geodetic Survey, which is done in the Treasury-Post Office bill reported today, claiming that only $11,250 would be saved and 42 per cent of this would come out of the pockets of employes drawing an average of only $1,719 a year. Replying to Representative Mapes, Chairman Byrns said that the same prohibitions would be adapted to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as to the Geodetic Survey. In reporting the Treasury-Post Office bill today Chairman Byrns explained that the same prohibitions are included to correspond to the policy heretofore pursued in connection with previous bills relative to increases of compensa- tion and filling of vacant positions modified so as to adapt such sections to the services covered by the bill. The section pertaining to compensation pre- vents any increases between the date of the approval of this act and June 30, 1933, except as herein explained, other than such as may come incidental to advancement of qualified persons in lower grades to fill vacant positions in higher grades and appropriate language has been incorporated to prevent dur- ing this period automatic promotions to clerks in the field service of the Cus- toms Service, privates of the White House police force, and employes of the Postal Service, and advances in_pay within grade to commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and com- missioned _officers and _commissioned warrant officers of the Coast Guard. Automatic Advancements. Salary advancement for these groups is automatic under the law unless spe- cifically prohibited. The exceptions specifically made are enlisted men of the Coast Guard and postmasters or postal employes whose compensation is fixed, or from time to time adjusted, upon' the basis of the postal receipts or other variable factors of business of their respective offices, and carriers in the rural mail delivery service, whose compensation is fixed upon the basis of the length of their respective routes. The section relative to the filling of vacancies is modified so as to eliminate its application to temporary, emergency, seasonal or co-operative positions, and to the commissioned and enlisted per- sonnel of the Coast Guard. The total active personnel of the Coast Guard | provided by 1932 appropriations is 12 691, of which number 11,137 are en listed men. In view of the nature of the service and the very large number of losses occurring during the year in the enlisted force through expirations and other causes, numbering over 8,000 | in the fiscal year 1931 out of a total enlisted personnel of over 11,000, it is deemed advisable to this exception. The section relative to vacancles is furtber amended in an endeavor to se- cure for substitute employes in the postal service just consideration in con- nection with permanent appointments when they are performing regular serv fce. To that end the following proviso has_been incorporated: “Provided, that when any vacancy is caused by the retirement, removal resignation or death of a postal employe in a position the duties of which make it necessary to assign permanently a substitute for an eight-hour daily period, or when it is necessary permanently to utilize a substitute on an auxiliary route for eight hours daily, then the Post- master General shall so advise the President and request written authoriza- tion to fill such vacancies by the ap- pointment of additional regular em- ployes.” . U. S. CUTS SHELVE STATE DEPARTMENT AND APEX PROJECTS (Continued Prom Pirst Page) $108,000.000, an increase of $31.200,000 over 1932 and a decrease of $12,000,000 under the budget estimates. In con- nection with this appropriation of $108,000,000, the committee is propos- ing & limitation upon the amount which may be expended for buildings in the District of Columbia of $15.000,000, leaving $92.000,000 for the remainder of the country. “Limitations are proposed upon the appropriation prohibiting the use of any part of this or any other appropriation for public building construction for use in reconstructing the Department of State Building as provided by the act of July 3, 1930. A limitation similar in purport was carried in the first defi- ciency bill at this session. A further re- quirement is cerried that the bullding authorized for Seguin, Tex. by the act of March 4, 1931, shall be constructed upon the site owned by the Government on that date. In connection with the restriction of expenditures from this appropriation for the District of Columbia to $15,000,- 000, & limitation is carried prohibiting the use of any part of the funds for commencing Wwork on the building known as the Apex Building. The ex- penditures contemplated during the next fiscal year in the District of Columbia under ‘the estimate of $120,000,000 ag- gregated $21,830,000, of which §$1,750,- 000 was for use in connection with the Apex Building for which no contracts have as vet been let. Considering the status of the other projects in the Dis- trict of Columbia and the estimated ex- penditures during the next fiscal year it would seem that $15,000,000 should be & fair limitation in comparison with the rest of the country even though it should result in not so rapid progress here as had been contemplated. “The place of the Apex Building in the development of the triangle is recog- nized, but the committee feels that in view of the large program which is planned for Washington no great harm can come from the postponement of this project for the present. The law linder which the building is authorized provides a building “for the Coast Guard or other Government activity.” The committee is advised that present %'." contemplate housing the eral rade Commission in this structure in- stead of the Coast Guard.” ! Latest War Scenes Fro Actlvities on the Shanghai front are shown in these latest pictures to reach the United States fr The upper photo shows a barricade with Chinese soldiers at Note the American flag. The lower shows a squad of pictures left Shanghal February 8. Paoshan and Jukong roads in the Chapei district of Shanghai. Japanese bluejackets on the roof of a half-ruined school trying to pick off Chinese soldiers hiding in the devast in front. m the Chinese Front China. The he junction of ted area —A. P. Photos. WHITNEY DEFENDS SHORT INTERESTS Market Would Have Closed| Without Bear Selling, He | Tells Subcommittee. By the Associated Press. | Richard Whitney, president of the | New York Stock Exchange, told a House | judiciary subcommittee today that “if | there was no short selling I am con- | fident our market would have closed months ago.” He said short selling is a “necessary and useful practice.” | Whitney opened his testimony with a general discussion of the mechanics of | Stock Exchange transactions. The ju- diciary group 1s considering bills both to regulate ana prohibit short selling. | Borrowing of Stock. Whitney said he could “not see why it is wrong” tor a short selier to bor- row stock “if the borrowing of money is permitted.” “Short sales are executed in the same | manner as other sales,” he said. “The | compensation short sellers pay for loans is sufficient to secure lenders. “It is an outstanding achievement that our market has stayed open,” Whitney continued. “If there was no short selling I am confident our market would have closed months ago. The | securities market would have followed the same course the real estate market did after the break, and the conse- quences would have been disastrous. Loans Remain Liquid. “Because the exchange has stayed open, the huge total of loans based on securities in this country has remained liquid. Had they become illiquid our | entire banking sysiem would have been devastatingly affected.” Whitney said short selling was banned for two days when England went off | the gold standard. | “We felt the only alternative was closing the exchange,” he said. “We stopped short selling because we | were aware of the existence of a short interest of 4000,000 shares. “There was no doubt that a tempo- | rary ban on short selling would bring buying power into the market. The sub- sequent events proved the governing board was right.” Whitney said announcement of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation plans “was well recelved,” but brought | no permanent effect on stock price trend because “its effect on business was problematical.” “Not a Dominant Facior.” “Short selling is not a dominant factor on security prices,” he said. “Though the Exchange has been under closer supervision for the last year than ever before, we have failed to discover any evidence of organized short selling or bear raids. There is no evidence to support the theory that a small group of speculators have conspired to drive prices downward. “We have investigated every sus- picious case; in recent months bear raiding bas mot existed on the New York Stock Exchange. “The greatest short interests have been in the active issues; otherwise, there is nothing surprising or im- portant about it.” When Whitney concluded his pre- pared statement, Representative La Guardia, Republican, New York, asked whether the Exchange’s most recently applied restriction to short selling was taken at the request of President Hoover. “I do not feel that I can say anything about a conversation with fhe Presi- dent without his permission,” Whitney replied. ‘Was that action taken to correct existing evils?’ It was not taken in any way to cor- rect existing evils,” Whitney replied. | “We did it because last week the Gov- | erning Committee of the Exchange, realizing that the popular misconception had grown so great as to disturb even many intelligent persons, decided to make its position in regard to the lend- ing of stocks absolutely clear. 1t, therefore, ruled that the consent of customers to the lending of stocks could not be incorporated in the usual form of agreement which customers sign | when they open brokerage accounts. It required that these consents be incor- | porated in separate documents so that customers would clearly understand the nature of the power they were vesting in their brokers. “Our most recent is only an- other method of prever any possible abuse of short selling.’ | passed by the Senate this afternoon. BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—There is two things I think you will find out about this war in China. One is that it is rather over ‘“press agented.” All these writers were in Man- churia when I was, and I know they nat- urally being writers had to kinder exag-~ gerate it all to keep it read- able. So they nat- urally are put- ting it on pretty thick in Shanghai. ‘The other thing is you always want to look at your date line and see if the dispatch is headed Shanghai or Tokio. Then which ever one it is, discount it at least 50 per cent in favor of the other side. For both places have their government cen- sorships and you can't send any- thing out that is not colored in their favor. NAMING OF BLAR PORTAL APPROVED Senate Passes Designation for 16th Street Entry to Capital. The Sixteenth street entrance to the National Capital would be named Mont- gomery Blair Portal, under a resolution | It still requires action by the House. This name is being selected in commemora- | tion of the public service of Montgom- | ery Blair, Postmaster General in the | cabinet of President Lincoln, | Action Postponed. The Capper bill to authorize incor- poration of credit unions in Washing- ton was postponed at the request of Senator Dickinson, Republican, of Iowa. This bill would authorize formation of co-operative societies for the purpose of making loans to members. The Senate later this afternoon passed | three other local measures, all of which BIG FLOOD FEARED still require action by the House. They were a joint resolution to authorize the | closing of Water street between Twenty: second and Twenty-third streets, near | the Lincoln Memorial; a bill making | one minor amendment to the law relat- | ing to degree-conferring institutions and | a bill to simplify the procedure in is- suing procedures for witnesses before police and fire trial boards, Only Block Affected. That portion of Water street to be closed is only a block long and is un- paved. The bill authorizes the ex- change of strips of land between the Government and the American Phar- | aceutical Association in order that the proposed national headquarters to be erected by that organization will fit in with the plans of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission for the general treatment of that area. ICE AND GINGER ALE 0. KD COLUMBUS, Ohio, February 24 (.| —Serving of cracked ice and ginger ale | in a public place is not aiding and abet- ting the violation of Ohio prohibition. the Oho Supreme Court ruled in effect today. BAND CONCERT. By the United States Marine Band | Orchestra this evening at the Marine Barracks Auditorium at 8 o'clock. Capt. Taylor Branson, leader; Arthur S. Wit- | comb, second leader, conducting. | March suite, “From the Days of Overture, Characte pring,” Sinding Excerpts from “The Desert Song.” Romberg (a) “Smile of Colombine" Serenade, o (b) “La Pampita,” Tango de Concert, Chenoweth Waltz, “Roses of the South”....Strauss “Dance of the Hours,” from the “La Gioconda”. Ponchielli alls of Marines’ hymn, “The Montezuma “The Star Spangled Banner.” ON MISSISSIPP! Swollen Tributaries Adding to Already Menacing Delta Torrent. By the Associated Press. GREENVILLE, Miss., February 24.— Father Mississippi. usually an admirable old reprobate, is being goaded to violence by his wandering sons—tributary rivers that get full in riotous living, then stag- ger down to the old man’s homestead and pour all their troubles on him. Figuratively, that is the situation in the Lower Mississippl Valley today, | where many feeder rivers are dumping | their surplus into the big river and forcing a flood menace of dangerous magnitude. A disastrous flood on the Mississippi may be avoided this season through prowess of engineers, who have got the old man pretty well bluffed with levees and are keeping him in bed. River- men say_the situation is well in hand, but the Mississippi is above flood stage and he is not worthy of the slightest trust when in that condition. Upper Regions Safe. Northern snows have been light and the valley has little to fear yet from the upper tributaries. The Missouri, an old pal of Father Mississippi on many sprees, has been well behaved. Even the Ohio, as temperamental as a prima donna, has been unsually kind. Of course, heavy rains in the upper water- shed will change the situation and play havoc down here, but so far the Mis- sissippl has had excellent co-operation outside his own immediate family. It is the delta rivers—those mean little fellows that don't play fairly— that double-crossed the valley and got on a Winter spree. They broke their levees and went scampering through people’s houses and now they are pour- ing a tremendous surplus into the Mis- sissippl. And the big river doesn't like it. He has all he can handle, 5o he is pushing their overflow back up their channels and flooding their mouths. When the tributaries get so full and the Mississippi reaches flood stage it is a dangerous sign, because the Spring rains are still to come. Conditions Look Bad. The prodigal rivers fcrm a network in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Many are not known generally except around their own playground. There is the L'Anguille in Arkansas, & vicious little fellow that is = giant when full, | and the beautiful St. Francis and White, both big streams even at low stages. The Arkansas is a dangerous con- tributor, as is the Cache. The Ouachita, Hurricane, Red and Bartholomew are all in_ugly moods Their lowlands are suffering inun- dation. Some of these work into the Atchafalaya basin, but it all is part of the lower valley. In Mississippi, the Yazoo, Sunflower, Tallahatchie and others are raging. Many settlements have been flcoded and many middle delta plantations have suf- fered virtual ruin. The signs are bad, but the people are optimistic. Faith in the new levees is great. And there is always the hope that the Spring rains will be light. VOTERS ASK RECALL OF ATLANTA MAYOR 200 More Than Required Number of Votes Subscribe to Petition. By the Assoclated Press. ATLANTA, Ga., February 24—More than 200 names above the number re- quired by law for a special election were disclosed today on petitions for the recall of Atlanta’s fiery mayor, James L. Key. J. H. Tatum, the city clerk, said the petitions bear the signatures of 5259 registered voters. Under municipal law, petitions from one-fourth of the regis- tered voters—4,997 in this instance— make a recall election mandatory. The petitions will be presented to the City Council March 7. et day sufficlent rain falls upon sistant chief of | DECLNE ISHOV N BANK CREDT Loans and Investments Con- tinue to Drop, Reserve Board Reports. Liquidation of member bank credit which began in 1929 continued through this past January with a decline of 000,000 at banks in leading citie: e Federal Reserve Board reported to- day. The decline followed a reduction in loans and investments in the last quar- ter of 1931 of $1,500,000,000 at leading city banks and of $1,000,000,000 at other member banks. The only form of member bank loans to show an in- crease during the last quarter of 1931, the board said, consisted of loans to banks which increased $200,000.000 to & total of $800,000,000 rflected disturbed banking conditions. “Reduction of member bank credit has been under way since 1929." the board said, “and for two years ending September. 1931, total loans and invest- ments showed a decrease of $2,800,000,- 000 or at an average rate of 4 per cent per_year, “In the last quarter of 1931, how- ever, there was a further reduction about equal in amount to the full de- cline in the preceding two years and larger than the post-war liquidation in loans and investments which took place between November 15, 1920, and March 10, 1922. Loans to Customers Decrease, “Both in 1930 and in 1931, the largest declines were in loans to customers. Open market loans after increasing by $850,000,000 in the first quarter of 1930 declined $2,200,000,000 from that time until the end of 1931, the larger part of this decline being in loans to brok- ers. In 1930 and until the Autumn of 1931 banks increased their investments in the total of $2,500,000,000, but in the last three months of the year investment holdings of the bank declined by $850,~ 000,000." The decrease in loans and invest- ments, the board continued, was par- ticularly large at city banks, in con- trast to the two preceding years, when credit liquidation was more pronounced &t the so-called country banks. The board halled the formation of the Reconstruction Finance Corpora- tlon as the outstanding event (‘)?oln- terest to banks during the last month. While it made no predictions as to results expected from the corporation, it pointed out that it had funds up to $200,000,000 which could be loaned on the assets of the suspended nks, thereby making ‘money more readily available to the depositors. Fewer Banks Closed. The board reported that in "‘"“33 334 banks with deposits of $275,441, suspended. The number was 324 less than in December, 'when - 358. banks with deposits of - $277,051,000 closed. During January 14 banks with deposits of $7,495.000 were reopened. The re- view called attention to substantial additions made to the gold reserves of France and Switzerland in the last month. On January 22 the Prerch gold re- serves totaled $2,771,000,000, an ease of $87,000,000 in the month and an increase of $613,000,000 in a . year. Switzerland's gold reserve on January 23 amounted to $468,000,000, an in- crease of $24.000,000 in & month and of $342,000,000 in & year. At the end of January the United States held $4,415000,000 in gold, a decline of $45,300,000 for the month. GERMANY ACCEPTS DRAFT CONVENTION OF DISARMAMENT (Continued From Pirst Page.) armaments and _international Fper- vision has been definitely accepted. principle of the necessity for restricting the more powerful offensive weapons is virtually agreed upon. It has been unanimously agreed that the community of nations must take steps to solve the armaments problem.” Declared Important Problem. Mr. Henderson referred to the French proposals for an international armed force under the League as one of the most important and most difficult prob- lems the conference must solve. “If would indeed be a pathetic situation,” he said, “if after the nations have cut- lawed war by the Kellogg pact the con- ference should settle down merely (o determine rules for conducting war “The task of the conference, now that general debate has ended, looms very large. The whole problem of securily has been set out very closely as a co- rollary to disarmament, and we owe much to the French and other delega- tions for making this problem clear. Our work is n in excellent spirit, but the task before us is long and tedious, requiring great patience, and we shall encounter great difficulties, both technical and political.” The Committee of the Conference, which is a small edition of the confer- ence itself, was slated to mecet at 4 p.m. today to outline the procedure. ciso” Garay, delegate from Pana- ma, was the flnal speaker. He sais Panama Is integrally disarmed “not as a result of treaties, but spontaneously and in exercise of our sovereign will.” His country suppressed its army 13 years ago, he added, retaining only a police force, and appiled the saving to education and public works. Gas to Be Opposed. CANBERRA, Australia, February -24 (#).—J. G. Latham, minister of external affairs, said Australia’s delegation at the Disarmament Conference will sup- port proposals for abolishing submarines and gas and chemical warfare, reduc- tion of the size of warships and the caliber of naval guns, prohibition of large land guns and limitation, of con- scription. WEDDING BY PROXY BRIDGES DISTANCE TO BUENOS AIRES (Continued From First Page.) validate the -ceremony. He commis- sioned John H. De Baus of Lyon Park, Va., a personal friend, to _act as his proxy. Last night Miss Bayliss and Mr. De Baus, as proxy, signed the con- tract. It was understood diplomatic representatives of the Argentine repub- lic and this country were consulted and expressed the opinion that the cere- mony was legal. It was said Miss Bayliss wantea the proxy marriage performed here to fa- cilitate her entry into Argentina, where she and her husband will be remarried in two church ceremonies, the bride being a Baptist and the bridegroom a Catholic. Dr. Stevenson said marriages proxy are quite commor in Soul America. KILBOURNE RELIEVED Brig. Gen, Charles E. Kllbourne was relieved today from command of harbor defenses at Manila, P. I.. and ed as asistant chief of staff, war plans divi- sion, at the War Department. Kilpourne will be r!g ed by Brig. Gen, Stanley D. Embick, commandant of the Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Va. Brig. Gen. Joseph P. Tracy, now as- Every staff, war pians the earth to fill a reservoir 400 miles sion, will command the Coast A&; square to a ’m of about 19 feet Scheol.